Crash Landing
by Kalta79
Summary: Tifa is captured by the Turks as an AVALANCHE member, and they're heading back to base when bad weather hits.
1. Chapter 1

"Well it looks like our trap worked." Reno said as he shackled Tifa.

"Yep, one less AVALANCHE member running amok." Rude agreed, leading Tifa back to the helicopter where Elena was waiting.

"Is this why you two wanted me to stay here?" Elena inquired as she grabbed hold of Tifa when Rude handed the prisoner to her before he got in.

"What do you mean?" Reno asked as he hopped in and headed to the pilot's seat.

"If it had been a male operative you were trying to catch, you'd let me be in on the action. But a hot female, oh no, you two don't need my help." Elena said as she strapped Tifa in her seat, before strapping herself in.

Tifa kept her mouth shut, realizing there was no point in hoping Cloud would honor their childhood promise and come rescue her. After all, he was working for Shinra now as a member of SOLDIER, and she was a member of AVALANCHE, which meant they were on opposite sides.

Reno also kept his mouth shut instead of telling Elena things might be different on missions if she showed more cleavage, and he headed back towards base with his usual smooth takeoff. An hour into the flight, he turned on the intercom. "This storm looks nasty, things might get bumpy, people."

Elena looked at the window and swallowed hard. She had some training in aerial maneuvers and parachuting, but it was all simulations. Rude wasn't worried, he trusted Reno. Then suddenly the helicopter canted to one side and started sinking, and the passengers heard Reno swearing loudly.

"Lightning strikes, ladies and gentleman. Rude, you and Elena parachute your asses out of here, but first get our prisoner up here." Reno said over the intercom. "I'm gonna try and land this bird as best I can."

Once Rude and Elena had jumped, Reno glanced over at Tifa, who seemed terrified, which was a relief to him. It meant she would be less likely to cause him trouble. "Don't worry, the cockpit is reinforced. If we crash, we have a good chance of surviving, unless we plummet to the ground from above 2,000 feet." Reno told his prisoner as he regained some control and looked for enough space to land.

Tifa stared at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with him if he meant that to be comforting. "How…how much do crashes hurt?" she asked in a small voice.

"I think you're about to find out, it's going to be a rough landing." Reno said as another lightning strike hit the tail rotor.


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa slowly regained consciousness, aware of a heavy pressure. When she opened her eyes, she had to stifle a scream. The pilot's face was right in front of her, blood all over his face from a gash on his head. She remembered the helicopter falling, not being able to stop herself from screaming, and the pilot trying to calm her down, then nothing.

Reno groaned as he came to. He felt pain in both his arms and his head, and opened his eyes, looking straight into his prisoner's eyes, then hurriedly looked elsewhere and saw that the windshield was gone. When he went to push himself away from Tifa and stand up, he realized there was a problem.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked.

"I think both my arms are broken." Reno said, managing to stand without using his arms. Taking a deep breath to fortify himself against the pain, he grabbed hold of the windshield frame and pulled himself through, but he wasn't able to land properly on the ground, and he passed out again when he hit the ground.

"Are you okay? Hello?" Tifa was worried as she called out to the pilot but got no response. She was still shackled, but she managed to get herself out the windshield as well, and when she felt her feet on the ground, she went to check on the pilot, but the chains kept getting in the way, so she just stayed by his side until he woke up again.

"You might as well get out of here." he told her when he opened his eyes and saw her still there.

"How?" she replied, lifting her hands up as much as she could to indicate the shackles.

"The key's in my left pocket."

Tifa got the key out and Reno was able to use his hand to free hers, then she unshackled her ankles. Rubbing her wrists, she looked at him. "Thank you, but I'm not leaving you like this."

"Why not? Leaving's the easy part, you just walk away without any hard feelings."

"That's not how I do things. Is there a first aid kit in the helicopter?" Tifa went to get it as soon as he reluctantly told her where it was. She also grabbed one of the parachutes to use as a pillow for the pilot. "What's your name? I'm Tifa." she asked as she put the parachute under his head.

Reno frowned. He didn't like getting personal with anyone, even before he joined the Turks, and names were quite personal. It had served him well to have the targets on missions just be nameless faces. Even the constant parade of one-night stands, he never learned their name or volunteered his. He had his real name erased when he passed his training, known only as Reno since then.

"You do have a name, don't you?" Tifa asked again, as she tended to his head injury.

"Yes, but that's none of your business." Reno answered, somewhat disconcerted by her gentle touch and her breasts being almost in his face. She obviously didn't understand how things worked. The longer she stayed with him, the less chance she had to escape before the rescue team came..

"Why are you so sensitive about telling me your name?"

He took umbrage at being called sensitive. "That's personal." he told her.

"And you don't think taking me captive was personal?"

"No, it's just my job."

"Well I was studying to be a nurse, so taking care of you is my job, and it would help me to have something to call you."

He sighed, realizing she wasn't going to let it go. "Reno." he admitted reluctantly.

"Reno." Tifa smiled. "Your head is as good as it's going to get right now, you'll probably need stitches. I don't know how to take care of your arms."

"I do." Reno explained the steps and Tifa reluctantly followed his instructions, starting by taking his jacket and shirt off, and that's when she saw the bruising on his chest.

"I don't think you broke any ribs, but I can't be sure." Tifa said, examining his chest, and recognizing the pattern of the bruises. "It looks like you got whacked by my restraints during the crash."

"Don't worry about that, just set my arms." Reno ordered her, trying to ignore how relaxing her hands on his chest was.

"Okay." Tifa said, not looking forward to it.

"What's your problem?" he asked when she was done, trying to act like the pain didn't bother him, he was a Turk, after all. But the sweat on his forehead and his skin getting paler gave lie to his façade.

"I don't like hurting people, no matter the reason." Tifa explained.

"That's a surefire way to get hurt yourself."

"I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that score. What are we going to do for food?" Tifa asked as she made sure the splints on his arm were secure that she had fashioned with some parts from the wrecked helicopter.

"There should be some MREs next to the where the first aid kit was."

"Which one would you like?" Tifa asked him when she got back with them and some disposable utensils.

"I don't care, food's food." Reno answered.

"Okay, then you can have this one."

Reno turned sullen as Tifa tried to feed him. He didn't like being vulnerable, especially with someone whose behavior he didn't understand.

"What's wrong?" she asked when he refused the food at first.

"Nothing." he pouted.

"Then open up." Tifa put the spoon near his mouth and Reno was going to refuse again, until he realized her cleavage was in his line of sight, and his mouth opened up obligingly.

After he had finished his meal, Tifa used a piece of gauze to wipe his mouth, and he winced when she accidentally touched his chest. "Sorry about that." she said.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, I'm a Turk after all." Reno told her, trying to ignore her doubting glance about his stoicism.

"You don't like needing help, do you?"

"I'm a Turk." Reno repeated.

A little while later Tifa used Reno's matches in his other pocket to start a campfire, and heated water from a nearby stream to give Reno a sponge bath. He was feeling extremely uncomfortable by having her touch him so much, and he wasn't sure how much was due to the fact that he hadn't had sex in two weeks, or that he was basically her prisoner now due to his injuries. But all she was doing was taking care of him.

"Is this really necessary?" Reno asked her.

"Making sure you stay clean and don't get sick is really necessary." Tifa stated. "Are you blushing?" she suddenly asked, noticing how red his face got the lower on him she went with the warm damp rag.

"No I'm not dammit! The water's too hot, that's all." Reno exclaimed, feeling his face get hotter.

Tifa decided not to mention that the skin on the rest of him didn't get red, just his face. When she was done cleaning him, she rinsed the rag out, then dumped the makeshift pot out, then refilled it to heat water up for her sponge bath. Reno tried not to look directly at her, he just focused his eyes on her shadow. When she was done, she got another parachute from the helicopter to use as a makeshift quilt for them to sleep under.

"Why are you sleeping next to me?" Reno demanded to know.

"You're injured, I need to stay close to protect you if anything attacks." Tifa explained as she snuggled against him. "Besides, out here there's safety in numbers."

"I know that." Reno muttered under his breath. He wished Rude and Elena would hurry up and find him and he could go back to where things made sense to him.

Suddenly she turned over to face him. "Why do you have these?" Tifa asked as she ran her finger over his facial tattoos, needing to talk to get relaxed enough to sleep.

Reno tensed up. "Keep your hands to yourself!" he growled. His tattoos were off-limits to everyone. The only people who knew what they represented were dead now, and he wouldn't tolerate their desecration. Anytime one of his nightly conquests touched them, he'd kick them out of his place, or leave theirs, no matter what, even if they both were about to climax.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Tifa said.

"Well, you did." Reno snapped, then started to feel a little ashamed at his attitude as he saw the hurt on her face. Not sure how else to apologize for his outburst, he kissed her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Elena! Elena!" Rude called out, looking for her. The winds from the storm had wreaked havoc with their parachutes, and he and Elena got separated before landing. He landed on one side of a forested ridge, and he thought Elena must have landed on the other, but he had lost sight of her. He hoped she was okay, he really liked her spunk and didn't want anything happening to her on his watch. Rude heard an odd sound and rushed towards its location, stopping when he saw Elena being dragged by two men. She was apparently unconscious, and they had tied her up. He used the trees and bushes for cover as he got closer and closer to them, until he could overhear their conversation. He didn't want to rush them, not with Elena as their hostage and them both having large bowie knives.

"AVALANCHE will finally let us join them now! They told us to keep an eye out for people in dark suits, but I never thought we'd catch a woman." The first man said.

"Yeah, one falling out of the sky is the only way you'd ever catch a woman." The second man replied.

"That's what you think." The first man snapped. "We're almost back to the cabin now."

Rude trailed them silently, wanting to find out where the cabin was. The men took Elena inside when they arrived at the cabin, then one came back outside. Rude grabbed a big stick and snuck towards the front door, then suddenly he heard Elena scream. He charged the watchman and brought the stick down on his head, then ran up the stairs and flung the door open.

"I, uh, came to rescue you?" Rude took in the scene before him, Elena holding a dented oil lamp in her hands, standing over the other man, who was unconscious on the floor.

"Thanks." Elena said, then started to collapse. Rude ran to her and caught her before she hit the floor. "I think it's my leg." Elena paled and bit her lip as Rude carried her to the bed, the movement causing her serious pain.

Rude started to roll up her right pant leg to examine her after he laid her down on the bed, but the leg was too swollen. He took his pocket knife out and cut open her pant leg. "Yeah, it's broken." Rude told Elena after he checked out her leg.

"So fix it. We need to go look for Reno. Even if the helicopter crashed, he would have survived." Elena said, angry with herself for being injured when she landed, making it easy to get captured, and slowing everything up. This was exactly the kind of situation she was trying to avoid as the rookie.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Elena woke up, stiff and sore. She remembered Rude finding suitable material in the cabin to whip up a rudimentary cast for leg, which was only good enough to keep her leg protected if she was resting. He had cleaned her leg up first, and at her request had cut off the rest of her pants, and she was using a shirt found in the cabin as her outfit, since it was oversized on her. Her arms were sore from the men dragging her by them to the cabin, but she had to use the bathroom and fell out of the bed, the noise waking up Rude, who was sleeping in a rocking chair.

"What are you doing?" Rude asked her as he went to help her up.

"Where is the bathroom?" Elena wanted to know.

"Oh, I'll show you." Rude picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. "Just bang on the door when you're done and I'll put you back to bed." Rude closed the door.

Elena was disgusted by the sorry excuse for a bathroom she found herself in. The toilet was just like an outhouse toilet, but in the house. There was no bathtub, but a large sink, with a pump for a faucet, with a sponge and a bar of what seemed to be homemade soap on the counter. She ended up giving herself a complete sponge bath for five solid minutes after she was done, then banged on the door. Rude opened it almost immediately and carried her back to bed, surprised at how clean she smelled, and she had an idea spurred by his arms around her.

"Stay here in the bed with me." Elena suggested when Rude laid her back down on the bed.

"What?" Rude was floored.

"Stay here in the bed with me." Elena repeated, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him.

"You're injured…" Rude protested. He did like Elena, but something seemed off with her coming onto him like this.

"So be careful." Elena started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Tseng…" Rude tried to protest again, knowing Elena's interest in their boss, even as he took his shirt and jacket off.

"Isn't here. It's just you…and me." Elena took her nightshirt off. "If you're so worried about my leg, make me forget about it." She started to unfasten his pants.

Rude finally gave in, and he did make Elena forget about her leg. Elena was only aware of Rude…Rude's hands all over her, Rude's lips on her breast, Rude thrusting into her, Rude making her body feel things it never had before. She clawed his back and moaned, amazed at the strength of her first orgasm.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?" Rude demanded to know as he lay down next to her in the bed. He would have been more gentle if he had known, instead of letting his need for release take over. There hadn't been any women for him since that AVALANCHE spy Chelsea, he had kept himself too busy with work.

Elena frowned, feeling her euphoria fade at his question. "I didn't want you to act any differently, that's why." She traced his jaw line with her finger. "Thank you." Elena kissed him again, feeling a little guilty at her half-truth to another Turk. She wanted to have sex with him out here where no one would never know, because she had had no luck with Tseng in the year since she had joined the Turks. And she thought maybe it was because of her inexperience, but the opportunity to change that hadn't presented itself til now. And Rude had made her feel what she always hoped that Tseng would…not only that, Elena was confused by the fact that Rude's behavior seemed to indicate he liked her. Curling up against him, she went to sleep with the hope that things would make more sense in the morning.

Rude stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do. He hadn't expected to be the first man Elena had sex with, he had thought someone would have wanted her enough long before now. He looked at her sleeping body, and tucked some loose strands of hair back behind her ear before putting his arm around her. She made a mewing sound of pleasure and snuggled more tightly against him, still sleeping. He smiled, hoping that she wouldn't regret things in the morning, before he went to sleep as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Tifa felt herself start to respond to Reno's lips on hers, then she thought of Cloud and pulled away, slapping Reno smartly across his face.

"What'd you do that for?" Reno demanded to know, wishing he could move his arms so his hands could rub his stinging cheeks.

"I'm sorry I struck you, but you shouldn't have done that!" Tifa exclaimed.

"What, are you saving yourself for marriage or something?" Reno cynically asked, then noticed Tifa blushing in the firelight. "Are you for real? What's his name?"

"Now who's getting personal? Good night, Reno!" Tifa snapped as she blushed harder, turning over to present Reno with her back. He stared at her backside for a few moments, frowning before closing his eyes and trying to get some sleep.

In the morning, Reno woke up to the sounds of Tifa rekindling the fire. He watched her, wondering what her deal was. She didn't seem real…if the situation were reversed, he'd have left her to most likely die and escape while he had the chance.

"Good morning, I'll have hot water ready soon for tea I can make with some wild herbs I found." Tifa said, noticing he was awake and smiling at him. Reno started to smile back at her without realizing it.

As they drank from the thermos she had found in the helicopter, Reno was still rather put out that his arms were useless and Tifa had to help him eat and drink, while somehow enjoying the attention she gave to him.

"When do they come to rescue us?" Tifa asked him as she checked his arm splints to make sure they were still secure without affecting his circulation.

"I don't know if they are. I didn't send out a Mayday, so unless Rude and Elena come looking for us, I'm not sure if we ever will be 'rescued'. I hope you know how to hunt in case we run out of MREs before then."

"Never rescue us? What kind of people do you work for?" Tifa was shocked momentarily, then she realized she shouldn't be, because she knew exactly what kind of people he worked for. "Never mind."

"Don't worry, I never mind. That's part of my charm." Reno said offhandedly, trying to ignore the pity in her eyes. He went on the offensive, since it bothered him to know that she felt sorry for him. "You work for AVALANCHE, and they're just a bunch of thugs and vandals, that's kind of people **you** work for."

"We're not like that, we're trying to stop Shinra's rape and eventual murder of our planet!" Tifa stated passionately. "We help people!"

"That's why none of the members have ever been arrested and convicted of any crimes, is it?" Reno smirked at Tifa staring down at the ground and refusing to answer, then he frowned as he realized he didn't like making her feel bad. "Never mind."

"I need a bath, I'm heading to the stream." Tifa started to walk off, then paused and came back to him. "Let me help you up first." She got Reno standing up without hurting his arms, and then hurried to the stream.

Reno stared after her, then shook his head and found a tree to relieve himself behind, grateful that he could at least use his hands do that by himself, he didn't want to ask Tifa for help with that. It was bad enough that she had to bathe him. He felt his face go red again with the memory of her hands all over him. He finished his business and went back to the campfire, using some of the water to wash his hands off. He stood there, wondering what to do while Tifa bathed in the stream, when he suddenly heard a voice call for him. It sounded like Elena's, but something was wrong with it, and it wasn't close. He ran to the stream, pausing when he saw her naked and wet, stepping out of the stream to put her clothes back on.

"Tifa! You've got to hide!" Reno exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Tifa asked as she finished getting dressed. "What's that?" Tifa heard the voice then as well, calling out for Reno.

"They've come for me, but they don't need to find you as well." Reno looked around and spotted some bushes under trees that would provide cover from aerial and land surveillance. "Hide there until well after you see the helicopter leave that will be arriving shortly." Reno pointed as well as he could to the right spot. He didn't know why he was doing this, but he didn't feel right about taking her back to be interrogated, he knew what that entailed.

"Why should I hide?"

"Dammit, just do it!" Reno yelled. When she glared at him with a stubborn look on her face, he took a deep breath and got a hold of himself. "Save yourself now, just like you're saving yourself for your future husband. He must be out there waiting for you, isn't he? After the helicopter leaves, grab whatever you want from the helicopter and head east, I saw a small village that way just before we hit the storm. Now please, go!" Reno walked towards where he heard Elena's voice coming from, not seeing Tifa look back at him as she went to hide where he indicated.

"Thank you!" Tifa loudly exclaimed, but Reno pretended to ignore it as he continued to go reunite with his fellow Turks. In his world, there was no place for someone like her.


	5. Chapter 5

Elena woke up to find Rude's arms holding her firmly against him. She was somewhat embarrassed by how she threw himself at him last night, but Rude had made it extremely worthwhile for her. Wondering if it would be the same the second time around, she kissed him to wake him up.

"Rude, it's almost dawn, time to wake up."

"Huh?" Rude sleepily asked, then opened his eyes wide as he realized they were naked in bed together.

"I need you to do something for me." Elena smiled at him.

"What?" Rude was distracted by her hands on him.

"Make me forget my broken leg again."

Rude matched her smile as he willingly obliged her. Elena reveled in what he could make her body feel, and as she cried out, she felt a twinge of guilt for her thought of using him to help her get Tseng. Maybe she should forget him, since Rude was here now.

Rude was relieved that Elena still wanted him in the morning, he just hoped it wasn't simply her psychological response to yesterday's events and their isolation. When they were back in civilization she might regret it then, but in the meantime…the release she gave him wasn't as intense as last night's, probably because it had taken the edge off, but it was still intense enough that he regretted having to leave soon to go find Reno. He realized he did need a woman in his life, and it would be so easy to do worse than Elena, but doing better than her would be extremely hard.

* * *

After a quick breakfast, Rude had gotten dressed and gone outside to find some kind of transportation that would accommodate Elena's broken leg. He wasn't happy when all he found was a wheelbarrow. Everything else there either would aggravate her broken leg too much, or didn't have enough room for her. He went back inside to let her know they could leave, and found her still in the bed, trying to get dressed. She seemed paler, and he noticed.

"Elena?" Rude asked, concerned.

"I hurt too much right now." Elena reluctantly admitted. Just moving around in bed to try and get her Turk shirt and jacket back on had hurt her terribly, ruining the euphoria of her time with Rude. The events of yesterday must have been worse on her than she had thought.

"I'll see what I can find." Rude said. He hadn't seen any pain medication when he was taking care of her yesterday, but he had spotted a familiar jug. Opening it, he sniffed it. He didn't relish the idea of giving Elena moonshine, but she didn't need to be in pain. He poured her a small amount. "Here, drink this." Rude told her as he dressed her.

"What is that?" Elena made a face, the stuff tasted awful.

"The only painkiller I could find. It will take effect soon." Rude said as he wrapped her in the quilt from the bed, and carried her outside to the wheelbarrow. Once he had her safely in it, he went back in the cabin for a pillow and the jug of moonshine. He put the pillow behind her for extra cushioning, and gave her the jug. "Only take a little swig about every hour or so if you need it for the pain." Rude cautioned her before heading back to the ridge they had landed on so they could have a vantage point to try and spot where Reno could be.

An hour later, they had reached the ridge, and Elena spotted the thin column of smoke in the distance, which Rude assumed was Reno's campfire. "Forest fire!" Elena had yelled when they were looking around, not seeing Rude give her a funny look, hoping he wasn't going to have to put up with a drunk Elena.

Rude's worst fears were realized…not only did he have a drunk Elena to deal with, but drunk Elena was also a loud horny Elena. He had lost count of how many times he heard her say something along the lines of "Quit driving that wheelbarrow and ride me again, Big Boy!", before taking another sip of moonshine.

* * *

Reno was surprised to see Rude pushing Elena in a wheelbarrow until he saw her leg. Then he got another surprise when he saw the jug of moonshine in her lap. "Are you drunk?" he asked Elena.

"Reno!" she happily exclaimed. "Rude won't play with me anymore, how do ya like these apples?" Elena lifted her shirt up to flash Reno her breasts.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Reno demanded of Rude, wondering why his partner's face suddenly turned beet red.

"I'll show you what we did if ya want." Elena told Reno, then got angry when he seemed to ignore her. "Hey, I asked you a question!" Elena started to yell. "Don't you ignore me! I have to put up with that from Tseng, I ain't putting up with it from you too, buddy!" Reno and Rude were both relieved when she suddenly passed out drunk. Reno noticed Rude had frowned when Elena mentioned Tseng, but decided to focus on more important things.

"I obviously couldn't radio for help after the crash" Reno told Rude and indicated his broken arms. "I'll need you to do it. I'll show you where the helicopter is."

"Where's the prisoner?" Rude asked as they walked to the helicopter.

"Oh, she was gone when I regained consciousness after the crash. She must have stolen the key from my pocket to free herself and then split. You know how AVALANCHE is…"

"How'd you manage to take care of yourself with two broken arms?" Rude questioned him.

"I'm a Turk." Reno heatedly replied with pride.

Rude crawled into the helicopter through the missing windshield and radioed for another chopper to come get them. "They'll be here in about an hour." he told Reno when he got back out.

They were both surprised to see Tseng in the helicopter when it landed. "You can all explain to me on the flight back to base why a simple operation ended as a failure." he said as they got in.

Reno noticed how tenderly Rude picked up Elena out of the wheelbarrow, but didn't point it out to Tseng, just like Rude didn't point out the faraway look in Reno's eyes as he looked back outside for a moment before Tseng closed the cabin up so the pilot could take off.

* * *

A week later, Rude visited Reno at the hospital, where he was staying until his arms were healed. "Hey partner, how you holding up?" Rude asked.

"I'm being forced to be taken care of by that nurse." Reno smiled, pointing out an attractive blonde to Rude.

"You must be suffering." Rude commented.

"So how's Elena?" Reno asked, not wanting to admit that he half-wished Tifa would somehow end up being his nurse again, since the official report had her as escaping right after the crash. Tseng hadn't been _too_ upset at them, because there wasn't much they could do when lightning kept striking the helicopter, and even though Tifa had gotten away, later on Tseng sent a team to get those two wannabes that Rude had locked in their root cellar, who gave them decent information about AVALANCHE before Tseng made an example out of them for their assault and kidnapping of Elena.

"I would presume she's okay. Once she sobered up, she started avoiding me." Rude shrugged, not wanting to admit that it bothered him to not see her.

* * *

Elena felt out of sorts, not just because she was out of commission until her leg healed. It was partially due to knowing how she embarrassed herself while drunk, and partially due to the fact that she would occasionally have extremely erotic dreams about Rude, but she was unsure how to bring herself to face him again. She had been home for five days, spending two days at the hospital to have her leg properly cared for, and was learning to get around on crutches. Elena wasn't happy that Rude hadn't been by to see her, even if she had texted him to give her some space so she could figure things out.

* * *

Tifa sighed as she came home to 7th Heaven. It had been an extremely difficult journey to get back here, and she just wanted to sleep in her own bed. She dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom, and didn't bother undressing before collapsing onto her bed. Closing her eyes, she was surprised to find herself thinking of that Turk. She hoped he didn't get in any trouble for letting her go.

"Be safe, Reno." she murmured before falling asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Rude lit up momentarily when the elevator doors opened and Elena stood there. This was her first day back at work, and he had been hoping to see her. She started to smile at him before walking in and hitting the button for the research floor. They stood awkwardly apart from each other, neither of them sure if they should say anything or not. Suddenly the car lurched and the regular lights went out, then the emergency lights came on.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, steadying herself with the handrail.

"I'm not sure." Rude tried all the emergency procedures he knew with the control panel, but none of them worked.

"Well I hope…" Elena started to say, then the elevator car dropped a couple floors, and when it stopped, she found herself in Rude's arms. She looked up at him, and as soon as they made eye contact, his lips were on hers, and she was unbuttoning his shirt. She had missed feeling his skin on hers, but hadn't known how to approach him after she had asked him to leave her alone. Now Fate had solved her problem perfectly.

Reno smiled as he watched the security video feed from the elevator. He had figured out what happened between those two, their obvious avoidance of each other might as well have painted a huge sign on them that said "HEY, WE HAD SEX!" Reno didn't mind helping them out by playing Cupid. He turned the monitor off once he noticed they were both naked. He did mind watching other people have sex when he worked with them. He set the rigged elevator to resume normal function in an hour. If Rude and Elena took longer than that, they were on their own.

* * *

Elena reluctantly separated from Rude to get her clothes back on. It had been two weeks since the elevator incident, and they had decided to continue their relationship, but to do it discreetly. They always met late at night at their apartments, taking turns on whose it was. Right now they were at his place.

"Do you really have to go?" Rude asked as he watched her get dressed.

"Yes, I've got to make sure I still can pass the physical exam. Being bedridden with a broken leg might have put me off my game." Elena put her bra and panties back on, then leaned over to kiss him before going back to the other room where they had taken off the rest of her clothes. She tried to be annoyed that one of her buttons on her shirt had been ripped off, but it was hard when remembering the circumstances made her smile.

* * *

Reno and Tifa were both upset when her activities with AVALANCHE brought them into direct combat with each other again. He couldn't bring himself to strike her, so he focused on that blond spiky-haired man she was with. He had knocked the man down, and was just about to taser him when Tifa intervened.

"No, please don't hurt Cloud!" she pleaded, kneeling over her childhood sweetheart. "Take me prisoner again if you have to, but don't hurt him!"

Reno frowned, realizing from her behavior that this must be the man she was saving herself for. He paused, and Cloud took advantage of his distraction to knock Reno down to the ground as well. Cloud stood up and shoved his sword in front of Reno's face, upsetting Tifa more.

"No Cloud, leave Reno alone." Tifa pushed the sword away, and stood between Cloud and Reno. Just then, Reno's cellphone rang.

"Reno here. Okay, I'll be right there." He hung up his phone. "Well, you two are lucky I'm needed elsewhere." A brief relieved smile passed over his lips as he looked at Tifa before leaving.

* * *

Reno took a deep breath to get some energy back. Evacuating Midgar wasn't as easy as it sounded, but Meteorfall was deadly.

"Reno?" A female voice called out in concern.

"Who's there?" He thought he had everyone out of the building.

"It's me." Tifa stepped into view.

"What are you doing here?" Reno was surprised at how she seemed to show up where he least expected her, though he was always glad to see her alive and well.

"I got word that you were evacuating this sector and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm a Turk, of course I'm alright. How's that Cloud guy doing? He is the one you were saving yourself for, right? Are you married yet?" Reno wondered what the hell he was doing, her relationships were none of his business.

"Cloud is resting up after defeating Sephiroth." Tifa stated with quiet pride.

"And the two of you?" Reno persisted. "Shouldn't you be with him right now, instead of me?"

Tifa looked down at the ground, and Reno was alarmed by how her body seemed to sag.

"What's wrong?" Reno asked.

"I…I lost him to Aerith." Tifa didn't know why she was unburdening herself to Reno, but she felt compelled to let it all out. "He never looked at me the way I saw him look at her. Sephiroth killing her only made it worse. He acts like he cares about me, but something's missing. Who'd have ever thought I'd lose him to a dead girl?" Tifa got slightly hysterical, torn between laughing over the irony and crying over it.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm sure he'll come to his senses." Reno took her in his arms to calm her down. "Who wouldn't want someone like you?"

Tifa sniffled as she mulled over his words. "Do you want me?" She wondered aloud, lifting her tearstained face up to look into his eyes.

Reno kissed her as his answer, relieved that she eagerly responded to his affections instead of slapping him again. "Marry me." he said without realizing what he suggested at first.

"What?" Tifa was stunned, not only by his proposal, but by how her body had started to react to him.

"Marry me. It's almost the end of the world, what have you got to lose?" Reno indicated Meteorfall, and the rubble falling nearby.

"Who could even marry us now?" Tifa found herself getting carried away with the absurdity of it all.

"No problem." Reno took her by the hand and led her to a reinforced military vehicle of some sort, and knocked on the door.

"Reno, what are you doing here? You should be helping the others with evacuating their assigned sectors if you're done with yours." Reeve said as he opened the door.

"Marry us." Reno told him.

"You can marry people, Reeve?" Tifa was getting constantly surprised by recent events.

"I'm a licensed minister." Reeve proudly exclaimed, showing her his certificate. "You two actually want to get married _now_?"

"Why not?" Reno asked.

"I want to be married." Tifa said, knowing that was the truth. She just wanted to be married to Cloud, but she couldn't be with someone who didn't want to be with her.

"Okay, sign this first." Reeve reached inside the cab and grabbed a paper from a stack of forms. "It's the marriage license that has to be registered at City Hall. If City Hall is still standing after this."

"Okay, your turn." Reno signed his name, then handed the paper and his pen to Tifa, who paused before signing her name, thinking how unreal this all felt.

"Do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?" Reeve asked Reno.

"Aren't you supposed to say more than that? Like something about as long as you both shall live." Reno said.

"Meteorfall might kill us all, I'd like to get this done and get out of here, if you don't mind." Reeve snapped.

"Well, then I do take Tifa Lockhart as my lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold." Reno smiled at her.

"Do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?" Reeve asked Tifa.

"I do take this man as my husband." Tifa replied.

"Then I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." Reeve announced, and everyone's face turned into an expression of wonderment as the lifestream appeared, coming up from cracks in the ground to attack Meteor. "I'm getting the hell out of here, good luck on your lives together." Reeve grabbed the license from Tifa before hopping into the cab of his vehicle, slamming the door before speeding away from them.

"What do you want to do now?" Reno asked Tifa. "I guess the world's not going to end after all.

Tifa felt that maybe the lifesteam appearing to destroy Meteor after they were officially married was a sign. "I think we should…" Tifa started to say when Reno's phone rang.

"What? Yeah I cleared my sector. Is that really important now?" Reno sighed. "I'll be right there." Reno hung up his phone. "I'm sorry, but duty calls. I'll find you later." Reno kissed her and then he was gone.

Tifa frowned. She hadn't even been married for ten minutes before her husband disappeared. Maybe she just needed to avoid spiky-haired men in the future.

* * *

Tifa walked upstairs to answer the phone. "Hello?" She froze when she heard Reno's voice on the other end of the line. She hadn't seen him since the day they got married. Two years of technically being his wife, and this was the first time she knew he was even still alive. She hadn't been able to bring herself to have the marriage annulled, because it would expose her secret to everyone to go through the necessary legal steps. She wasn't exactly ashamed of being married to Reno, she didn't know him well enough to feel that way.

"Yeah, I remember you." Tifa said, trying not to get pissed off that he had the nerve to ask her that. Maybe she should become a nun…the man she wanted to marry and the man she had married, they had both made a habit out of ignoring her. She wondered if they were forming a Tifa Avoidance club, since Reno only called her with a message for Cloud. Reno's voice sounded funny, but she dismissed it at awkwardness of calling his wife for the first time in two years.

* * *

Elena knocked on the door, then knocked again when she didn't get an immediate answer. A few moments later, Tifa opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked in surprise. She had thought maybe it was Cloud bringing the kids back. Since being cured of Geostigma, he had spent most of his time with Denzel and Marlene, neglecting her again in the process.

"I want to help you." Elena said. "May I come in?"

"Um, sure." Tifa let her in, then closed her door, wondering what Elena could possibly help her with.

"I know you're Reno's wife." Elena said as she sat down on the couch in the living room."

"What? How did you…" Tifa felt her cheeks redden.

"Reno's been weird even for him lately, and I found out it started when he called you a few weeks ago. Reeve finally spilled the beans with some persuasion. I know Reno well enough that he's just using his job as an excuse to avoid you. He must care about you on some level, or he wouldn't have bothered getting married, and I think that's what scared him off.

"I wouldn't know, I hardly know him." Tifa informed her.

"Rude proposed to me last week, and…" Elena paused as she felt her cheeks redden as well, remembering how he proposed, or more specifically, what they were doing when he popped the question. "Anyway, our wedding is scheduled next month between missions, and I have an idea." Elena pulled a folder out of her jacket. "This is a copy of Reno's personnel file, burn it when you're done reading it. This might answer some of your questions about him." Elena stood up and headed to the door, before turning back to Tifa. "Call me if you're interested, my number's inside."

* * *

Tifa read Reno's file as she lay alone in bed that night. It was awful…no wonder he was so distant when she took care of him after the crash. No one should have to deal with what he had to. He just needed someone to love him, and he was legally her husband. She picked up the phone and dialed. "Elena? I'm in. What do I have to do?"

* * *

Rude was nervous…his tuxedo wasn't that much different from his Turk uniform, but this was his wedding day, and Elena had taken him into her confidence with a plan of hers, and he hoped it worked, for everyone's sake.

"Do I really need to wear this?" Reno complained about his tuxedo. He felt too proper that he didn't feel like himself.

"Yes, you're the Best Man, that's part of the gig." Rude snapped, trying to hide his anxiety.

"Don't be so pissy, you've got the easy part, all you have to do is do what you're told. At least that will prepare you for marriage." Reno said, somewhat jealous of his partner and Elena, since they were obviously happy together.

"You had the easy part, you know you liked planning the bachelor party." Rude reminded him.

"Yeah…" Reno smiled at the memory of those twin strippers he had found for the event, then he shook his head as the memory of Reeve marrying him and Tifa surfaced. He told himself it was just because Reeve was now marrying Rude and Elena today. "Are you ready?"

"Yes I am!" Rude took a deep breath and Reno ushered him out the door.

* * *

"If there is anyone here who feels these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." Reeve spoke to the crowd.

"I object!" A voice exclaimed.

Everyone turned to see Tifa standing at the end of the red carpeted aisle, in a beautiful wedding gown. She gracefully walked up to the bottom of the stairs.

"What is your objection?" Reeve asked.

"They don't get to hog the spotlight, this is our wedding day too!" Tifa replied, taking Reno's hand in hers, squeezing it in reassurance. "Even if we are already married, it's time we make it official." she whispered to Reno.

"Here ya go, partner." Rude gave Reno a little jewelry gift box, as he and Elena moved over slightly to make room for Reno and Tifa right next to them.

* * *

At the wedding reception, Yuffie caught Elena's bouquet, and went over to where Vincent was trying to be unnoticed in a dark corner. A little while later, the wedding photographer took a picture of Vincent with the bouquet sticking out of his mouth and Yuffie angrily downing shots at the bar.

Scarlet caught Tifa's bouquet, and was later seen next to Cloud, chatting him up as he nursed his glass of whiskey. Soon afterwards, guests saw them speed off on Cloud's motorcycle.

"Does this mean we have to have a honeymoon now?" Reno asked Tifa as the guests started to leave. He was still somewhat in shock as the surprise they all sprang on him.

"No, but we do finally have to have a wedding night." Tifa informed him.

Reno brightened at the prospect. "Where?"

"That's up to you, I helped plan the wedding, you get to plan the wedding night."

* * *

Reno unlocked and opened the door to his place, then carried Tifa over the threshold, kicking his front door shut before carrying her to his bedroom. Tifa kissed him as he started to take off her wedding dress. When he went to pull it off her, he got a face full of intricately beaded lace.

"Why do wedding dresses have to contain so much nonsense?" Reno groused as he tossed the gown onto the floor.

"Because hopefully you only wear it once, so it needs to be really special." Tifa explained as she started taking his tuxedo off.

Reno felt better once they were both naked in his bed, it was more familiar territory to him, the rings on their fingers the only difference between this and all his other sexual encounters. As his hand slid up her leg, he decided to take his time with her to make sure she enjoyed it.

Tifa wasn't sure exactly what she had expected from the long-delayed consummation of her marriage, but Reno made sure she would never forget it. He made sure that every part of her body was screaming for fulfillment before he ever entered her. Laying in his arms, her face was flushed and her heart beat rapidly as she recovered from her third orgasm.

Unbeknownst to each other, they both had the same thought before they fell into a contented sleep…that if this was what married life was like, they were willing to make a go of it.

* * *

Tifa knocked on Elena's door, and she answered it almost immediately. "Oh, it's you. I was hoping Rude was coming home to help out. Lucas is teething." Elena offered as an explanation for her behavior as she went back into the living room, leaving Tifa to come in on her own. Tifa brought the car seat in and closed the door.

"I brought Alexandra over for their playdate, maybe she'll help distract him." Tifa said as she took her infant daughter out of the car seat and put her in the playpen with Lucas, who was crying a little as he halfheartedly played with a set of big plastic keys.

Alexandra crawled over to Lucas and tried to take his key toy from him. When she didn't have the strength to just take it from him, she bopped him on the head and when Lucas cried harder and put his hands on his head, she grabbed the keys and started shoving them in her mouth as Lucas tried to kick her, but his level of motor skills made it difficult.

"Alexandra!" "Lucas!" Tifa and Elena called out their own child's name simultaneously, picking them up out of the playpen. Tifa scolded her daughter as Elena cuddled her son.

"This is what we get for marrying Turks." The mothers both said simultaneously again.


End file.
